The Danbury Whalers players are asking their fans to attend next week's City Council meeting to support the team's ongoing battle with city officials, who say the Whalers owe nearly $100,000 for police and fire protection at games since December 2012.

Also at issue is whether the Danbury Ice Arena, where the Whalers play, has a certificate of occupancy from the city for portions of the building that were upgraded nearly a decade ago.

Members of a City Council ad hoc committee that met Monday will recommend the team pay about $800 for fire and protection services at least five days before each game until the issue of the larger debt is resolved.

Team officials have said the Whalers, who won their league championship last season, may be forced into bankruptcy if required to pay the money.

The problem stems from the cost of five police officers and two fire marshals who attend each game for safety and security reasons. City officials say the police chief and fire marshal are empowered by state law to order the protection, if they deem it necessary.

The Whalers, however, contend the city doesn't have the authority to require the protection and the services aren't needed. The team stopped paying for them in November 2012.

The hockey team's president, Alan Friedman, accused city officials of bullying team representatives at the ad hoc meeting and making inaccurate statements.

"There were quite a few things said at the meeting that were not accurate, fabricated or simply not true," he said.

"If the city wants to sit down and figure out a fair and reasonable compromise, we are more than willing to do that," he said. "But all we've seen so far is that we were invited to one meeting and basically bullied."

Council members, however, said they were inflamed by a statement released by the team Thursday that asks fans to wear the Whalers' color, green, to Tuesday's City Council meeting, where the matter will be discussed further.

According to the statement, the team has an "invoice" of $410,000 for city protection services, and they offered a counterproposal of $180,000.

Council Minority Leader Tom Saadi said the city never sent an invoice to the team for $410,000, and a counterproposal was never offered at a meeting earlier this week.

"I want to keep the Whalers here, but I also want them to be truthful to the city of Danbury and stop misleading and inaccurate statements that only serve their interests and not the community," Saadi said.

"Even their lease with the arena states they are responsible for the payments, and now they just don't want to pay."

Friedman admitted the proposal wasn't made during the meeting, he said because committee members didn't give team representatives the opportunity to do so.

"They never gave us a chance," he said.

He added the $410,000 figure is based on what the team would have to pay for the protection services for its 10-year lease at the arena.

"It's accurate," he said, adding $40,000 toward the debt has already been paid.

Councilman Joe Cavo said, "It was very disingenuous for them to say we sent them an invoice for $410,000. That simply isn't the case."

Police Chief Al Baker said police presence is required at the games because they attract thousands of sometimes unruly fans and alcohol is available for purchase.

Officials have said the "fire watch" by the city's fire marshal's office is required because the building doesn't have an adequate sprinkler system for crowds of more than 500 people.

That issue goes back nearly a decade, to 2004, when a temporary certificate of occupancy was issued after trash czar and team owner James Galante paid $3 million to have another 1,400 seats installed in the building.

That certificate of occupancy required the sprinkler system be upgraded to handle the building's increased capacity. It expired Oct. 15, 2005.

City officials have said an agreement was reached at the time that Galante would pay for the fire watch until the sprinkler system was upgraded. City officials, however, have been unable to locate any copies of that agreement.

The city's building department said it appears no additional certificates of occupancy s were issued for the building, and there is no indication the sprinkler system was upgraded.

Deputy Corporation Council Laszlo Pinter said while the city needs to further research the issue, it is possible the additional seats have been used for the past nine years without a valid certificate of occupancy.

"Is it possible, yes," he said.

Pinter added the fire watch enacted during that time is "an appropriate substitution for the condition to fix the sprinklers."

Fire Marshal Jim Russell, who is new to the position, said while he believes the building is safe, he is studying the matter.

"We're having meetings every day on this," Russell said.

Kevin McCormack, vice president of operations for the arena, insists the building is safe and offered to hire an independent consultant to analyze the sprinkler system.

"It's our position that the arena is a very safe place, and we appreciate the interaction and professionalism we've had with the building department, the fire marshal's office and the police department," he said.

"We look forward to working with them to resolve the situation equitably."

Mayor Mark Boughton said it is possible a new temporary certificate of occupancy could be issued, with the same conditions as in 2004, in time for the Whalers' next home game on Feb. 8.

He added he will speak with David Newland, the city's recently appointed building official, next week about the matter to make sure the proper paperwork is in place.

"It's a clerical issue," he said.

Newland was out of the office Thursday and not available for comment.

Saadi said if a new certificate of occupancy is issued, he wants to make sure it is done "under the broad light of day," and that all the work required is completed.

"If the work isn't done, we'll certainly be asking about that," he said.